Key result
Virtual reality measurement of fetal cardiac ventricle volumes demonstrates excellent reproducibility with >0.85 agreement.
Why the study?
The feasibility and reproducibility of two ultrasound-related post-processing methods for first-trimester fetal cardiac function assessment by ventricle volume measurements had not been evaluated.
Are fetal cardiac ventricle volume measurements using Virtual Reality (VR) post-processing feasible and reproducible compared to VOCAL in first-trimester fetuses?
Observational
Are fetal cardiac ventricle volume measurements using Virtual Reality (VR) post-processing feasible and reproducible compared to VOCAL in first-trimester fetuses?
Effect estimate: ICCs > 0.85
Fetal cardiac ventricle volume measurements using Virtual Reality post-processing of STIC ultrasound datasets are feasible and reproducible in the first trimester.
Supports technical validation of VR fetal volumetry; leaves open clinical utility versus VOCAL in first-trimester assessment.
OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility and reproducibility of two ultrasound (US) related post-processing methods for first-trimester fetal cardiac function assessment by ventricle volume measurements. METHOD: weeks gestational age (GA) were used to perform fetal cardiac ventricle volume (FCVV) measurements in the end-diastolic (EDVV) and end-systolic (ESVV) phases using two methods: the manual segmentation method Virtual Organ Computed-Aided AnaLysis (VOCAL) and (semi-)automated volume measuring method Virtual Reality (VR). Reproducibility was assessed by calculating the intra-, interobserver and intersystem agreement using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) followed by Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: weeks (SD 2.3 days) and mean crown-rump length was 68.0 mm (range 61.0-75.6 mm). The intra- and inter-observer agreement for both methods resulted in good to excellent agreement (ICCs > 0.85). Mean relative differences for all FCVV measurements were < 10.0%, except for the inter-observer agreement of the VOCAL ESVV measurement (40.6%). The inter-system agreement showed poor to moderate agreement (ICCs 0.32-0.75) and moderate to good agreement (ICCs 0.62-0.78) in terms of absolute agreement and consistency, respectively. CONCLUSION: FCVV measurements performed in STIC US datasets using VR are feasible and reproducible, specifically when compared to VOCAL.
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Zandbergen et al. (2025) conducted an observational in First-trimester fetal cardiac function. Virtual Reality (VR) volume measuring method vs. Virtual Organ Computed-Aided AnaLysis (VOCAL) was evaluated on Intra-, interobserver and intersystem agreement using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) (ICCs > 0.85). Fetal cardiac ventricle volume measurements using Virtual Reality in STIC ultrasound datasets are feasible and reproducible, with good to excellent intra- and inter-observer agreement (ICCs > 0.85).
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